Teruo Tabata, a Japanese American, was born in Berkeley, California on 18 December 1923. His parents, Yataro and Sho Karasawa Tabata were native born Japanese. Noburo, their firstborn native Japanese son, was 18 when Teruo was born. Noburo, his wife, Shizuko and their son, Jeffrey, lived with the elder Tabata couple and Teruo. California residents, Yataro worked in a local laundry; Noburo was a researcher with an advertising firm.

The Tabata families lived at 14 North Humboldt Street, San Mateo, California. Teruo, also called Terry, attended local public elementary and high schools. He attended one year of college with a focus on commercial art.

In September 1942, the Tabata families were removed forcibly from their home in California to be interred in the Utah desert. Between 1942 and 1945, 10 relocation camps were opened by government order. Approximately 120,000 Japanese American citizens were imprisoned in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. While Teruo was later approved for military service in the United States Army, his family was incarcerated for the duration of World War II.

EO #9066: Incarceration by Fiat

In the days after the 7 December 1941 attack at Pearl Harbor, Japanese descendants living in America, regardless of their citizenship status, were under fierce scrutiny. In February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. The order authorized the War Department "to establish military zones in the western United States. Under this order, residents with “Foreign Enemy Ancestry” could be placed under surveillance, detained and even relocated by military fiat."

Few Americans of European ancestry were detained under this order. Its intent was directed primarily at Americans of Japanese descent. Eventually, more than 110,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans living on the U.S. mainland were forcibly removed and interned in 10 relocation centers. Detainees were subjected to harsh overcrowding, water shortages, sub-standard housing and exposure to extreme weather.

Teruo Tabata and his family were confined near Topaz, Utah, in a desolate area 140 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. For seven months beginning in July 1942, construction of the 19,800-acre Central Utah Relocation Center would house citizens from the Pacific coast. The Center was in the Sevier Desert, a dry, windy environment with harsh winters. Most internees were from San Francisco, California and were wholly unfamiliar with the climate.

The Camp was surrounded by barbed wire fences with manned, armed security towers. Barracks, barely ready for families, were constructed of wood planks covered with tarpaper. Drywall substituted for insulation. Each barrack was furnished with a stove and army bedding. Families lacked privacy. Bathing and toilet facilities were in separate, common structures. Many families helped finish the construction and built furniture.

On 13 August 1943, Teruo entered the United States Army at Fort Douglas, Salt Lake City. Private Teruo was attached to Company B of the 442nd Regimental Combat Unit.

The Famed 442nd: Patriots of World War II

“Americanism is not, and never was, a matter of race or ancestry.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt

One of World War II’s greatest combat units rose from national suspicion and hatred to champion freedoms its men were forbidden in their home country. The 442nd’s undisputed valor ensures its special place in American history. Most notably, the unit was composed entirely of Nisei recruits.

Nisei is the Japanese word for second-generation Japanese Americans. Originally, Japanese American men were not subject to the draft. The government formally labeled them as “enemy aliens” though they were United States citizens. The first group of Nisei, known as the Varsity Victory Volunteers, was composed of 1,300 Japanese Americans, formerly members of the Hawaiian National Guard.

An initial call for 1,500 volunteers from Hawaii got more than 10,000 responses. But the stateside call for 3,000 volunteers netted only 1,200 responses. As a result, 75% of the nearly 4,000 initial members of the 442nd were from Hawaii.

Despite the government’s attempts to exclude Japanese Americans from serving their country, many petitioned the United States Army for permission to serve. Ultimately, ranking Army command approved their petition. The first volunteers trained in Hawaii and then were shipped to the mainland. The unit finished its training at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin.

After the soldiers demonstrated successful training, the government formally reversed its previous order that banned Japanese Americans from serving in the armed forces. With that action, the government approved creation of a segregated combat unit that ultimately became the 442nd. On 1 February 1943, President Roosevelt activated the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

The motto of the unit was “Go for Broke,” a phrase that meant putting everything on the line to win big. “Go for Broke” was an appropriate motto. Just as other minority groups, Japanese Americans fought on two fronts during World War II. They warred against the Axis powers in Europe. Their struggle continued at home, warring against racism.

Deployed to the European Theater of Operations, the 442nd fought in major campaigns in Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Rhineland, Northern Apennines, Central Europe and the Po Valley.

Rescue of the Lost Battalion:

In October 1944, against the advice of his senior officers, Major General Dahlquist committed the 275-man "Texas Battalion" to an engagement. Subsequently, the battalion was cut off by the Germans. Attempts to extricate the troops failed when the 141st Infantry Regiment's other two battalions were unable to reach them. Though the 405th Fighter Squadron airdropped supplies to the trapped soldiers, their condition was perilous. German forces repelled American units sent to rescue the battalion.

The final effort was made by the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The 442nd had been given a period of rest after heavy fighting to liberate Bruyeres and Biffontaine. However, General Dahlquist recalled them to relieve the 36th Infantry. From 26 to 30 October 1944, the 442nd broke through German defenses and rescued 211 men. In those five days, the 442nd suffered hundreds of casualties. Estimates range from 200 to 800 killed in action or wounded. In the decades since the 442nd rescued the Lost Battalion, the exact number of soldiers killed remains difficult to determine conclusively.

Private Teruo Tabata was among those soldiers known to be casualties. On 28 October 1944, he was killed in action. He was 21 years old.

Teruo Tabata was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Distinguished Unit Badge and posthumously, the Purple Heart. He was interred at an American military cemetery near Epinal in northeastern France until the war was over. Private Tabata’s remains were returned to San Francisco, California for reburial at the Golden Gate National Cemetery. He was survived by his parents, his brother, sister-in-law and nephew.

Epilogue:

The 442nd was the most decorated unit of its size in U.S. military history. Over the course of the war, approximately 14,000 served in the unit, with 9,486 Purple Hearts, 21 Medals of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1 Distinguished Service Medal, 22 Legion of Merit Medals, 4,000 Bronze Stars, 1,200 Oak Leaf Clusters, 8 Presidential Unit Citations. In 2010, the 442nd was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal for its service during World War II.

Many members of the 442nd went on to distinguished careers in science, academia and government, including nine-term United States Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) who lost an arm from combat wounds. For far too many others, their lives and those of their families were characterized by devastation, post-traumatic stress and racial discrimination.

Because of the perception of “public danger,” all Japanese living on or near the Pacific coast were targeted for relocation. They were allowed to take one suitcase, leaving them with virtually no means of securing their life savings and possessions. Unless they could sell or arrange care for their property within a week, their real property and private belongings were lost irretrievably.

As a direct consequence of their detainment, thousands of Japanese Americans were released from camps without homes or means of support. Many families who returned to their original homes found them looted, defaced with graffiti or occupied by strangers. Real and personal properties had been stolen. Bank accounts, frozen by executive action, could not be accessed after the war by their Japanese American owners.

In 1988, Congress passed, and President Reagan signed, Public Law 100-383 that acknowledged the injustice of internment and apologized for it. PL 100-383 provided a $20,000 cash payment to each person who was interned.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This national effort of volunteers is writing the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen servicemen and women here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this work, a smart phone app will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen individual’s name and read his/her story.

References:

Ancestryinstitutions.org. 1930 United States Federal Census.

https://n.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Battalion_(Europe,_World_War_II)

https://www.britannica.com/event/Japanese-American-internment/Life-in-the-camps

http://www.the442.org/battlehistory.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment_of_Japanese_Americans

https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation

https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/sanfrancisco.asp

https://www.history.com/news/unlikely-world-war-ii-soldiers-awarded-nations-highest-honor

https://www.nps.gov/places/central-utah-relocation-center-site.htm#:~:text=Topaz%20was%20one%20of%2010,it%20housed%20over%208%2C000%20internees

https://aapf.org/japanese-internment

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/442nd-regimental-combat-team

Grubb, Abbie Salyers. "Rescue of the Lost Battalion". Densho Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 November 2014.

Public Member Photos & Scanned Documents. Obituary, San Mateo Times and Daily News Leader, 25 November 1944.

Tanaka, Chester, Go for Broke: A Pictorial History of the Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, (Novato: Presidio, 1997), p 99.

Video: Armistice Day in France Etc. (1944). Universal Newsreel. 1944. Retrieved 21 February 2012.

Williams, Rudi. "The 'Go for Broke' Regiment Lives Duty, Honor, Country Archived 14 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine" (25 May 2000), American Forces Press Service. Retrieved 21 November 2014.